A structured binary format native to Minecraft for saving game data and transferring
it over the network (in multiplayer), such as player data
(<player>.dat
; contains
e.g. player's inventory and location), saved worlds
(level.dat
and Chunk format),
list of saved multiplayer servers
(servers.dat
) and so on -
see https://minecraft.wiki/w/NBT_format#Uses.
The entire file should be gzip-compressed (in accordance with the original specification NBT.txt by Notch), but can also be compressed with zlib or uncompressed.
This spec can only handle uncompressed NBT data, so be sure to first detect
what type of data you are dealing with. You can use the Unix file
command
to do this (file-5.20
or later is required; older versions do not recognize
zlib-compressed data and return application/octet-stream
instead):
file --brief --mime-type input-unknown.nbt
If it says:
application/x-gzip
or application/gzip
(since file-5.37
), you can decompress it by
gunzip -c input-gzip.nbt > output.nbt
orpython3 -c "import sys, gzip; sys.stdout.buffer.write( gzip.decompress(sys.stdin.buffer.read()) )" < input-gzip.nbt > output.nbt
application/zlib
, you can use
openssl zlib -d -in input-zlib.nbt -out output.nbt
(does not work on most systems)python3 -c "import sys, zlib; sys.stdout.buffer.write( zlib.decompress(sys.stdin.buffer.read()) )" < input-zlib.nbt > output.nbt
image/x-pcx
and application/octet-stream
),
it is most likely already uncompressed.The file output.nbt
generated by one of the above commands can already be
processed with this Kaitai Struct specification.
This spec only implements the Java edition format. There is also a Bedrock edition NBT format, which uses little-endian encoding and has a few other differences, but it isn't as popular as the Java edition format.
Implementation note: strings in TAG_String
are incorrectly decoded with
standard UTF-8, while they are encoded in Modified UTF-8 (MUTF-8). That's because MUTF-8 is not supported natively by most target
languages, and thus one must use external libraries to achieve a fully-compliant
decoder. But decoding in standard UTF-8 is still better than nothing, and
it usually works fine.
All Unicode code points with incompatible representations in MUTF-8 and UTF-8 are U+0000 (NUL), U+D800-U+DFFF (High and Low Surrogates) and U+10000-U+10FFFF (all Supplementary Planes; includes e.g. emoticons, pictograms). A MUTF-8-encoded string containing these code points cannot be successfully decoded as UTF-8. The behavior in this case depends on the target language - usually an exception is thrown, or the bytes that are not valid UTF-8 are replaced or ignored.
Sample files:
This page hosts a formal specification of Minecraft NBT (Named Binary Tag) using Kaitai Struct. This specification can be automatically translated into a variety of programming languages to get a parsing library.
import kaitai_struct_nim_runtime
import options
type
MinecraftNbt* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`rootCheck`*: seq[byte]
`root`*: MinecraftNbt_NamedTag
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
`rootTypeInst`: MinecraftNbt_Tag
`rootTypeInstFlag`: bool
MinecraftNbt_Tag* = enum
end = 0
byte = 1
short = 2
int = 3
long = 4
float = 5
double = 6
byte_array = 7
string = 8
list = 9
compound = 10
int_array = 11
long_array = 12
MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`numTags`*: int32
`tags`*: seq[int64]
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
`tagsTypeInst`: MinecraftNbt_Tag
`tagsTypeInstFlag`: bool
MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`lenData`*: int32
`data`*: seq[byte]
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`numTags`*: int32
`tags`*: seq[int32]
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
`tagsTypeInst`: MinecraftNbt_Tag
`tagsTypeInstFlag`: bool
MinecraftNbt_TagList* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`tagsType`*: MinecraftNbt_Tag
`numTags`*: int32
`tags`*: seq[KaitaiStruct]
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
MinecraftNbt_TagString* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`lenData`*: uint16
`data`*: string
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
MinecraftNbt_TagCompound* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`tags`*: seq[MinecraftNbt_NamedTag]
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
`dumpNumTagsInst`: int
`dumpNumTagsInstFlag`: bool
MinecraftNbt_NamedTag* = ref object of KaitaiStruct
`type`*: MinecraftNbt_Tag
`name`*: MinecraftNbt_TagString
`payload`*: KaitaiStruct
`parent`*: KaitaiStruct
`isTagEndInst`: bool
`isTagEndInstFlag`: bool
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagList], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagList
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagString], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagString
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagCompound], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagCompound
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_NamedTag], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_NamedTag
proc rootType*(this: MinecraftNbt): MinecraftNbt_Tag
proc tagsType*(this: MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray): MinecraftNbt_Tag
proc tagsType*(this: MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray): MinecraftNbt_Tag
proc dumpNumTags*(this: MinecraftNbt_TagCompound): int
proc isTagEnd*(this: MinecraftNbt_NamedTag): bool
##[
A structured binary format native to Minecraft for saving game data and transferring
it over the network (in multiplayer), such as player data
([`<player>.dat`](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Player.dat_format); contains
e.g. player's inventory and location), saved worlds
([`level.dat`](
https://minecraft.wiki/w/Java_Edition_level_format#level.dat_format
) and [Chunk format](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Chunk_format#NBT_structure)),
list of saved multiplayer servers
([`servers.dat`](https://minecraft.wiki/w/Servers.dat_format)) and so on -
see <https://minecraft.wiki/w/NBT_format#Uses>.
The entire file should be _gzip_-compressed (in accordance with the original
specification [NBT.txt](
https://web.archive.org/web/20110723210920/https://www.minecraft.net/docs/NBT.txt
) by Notch), but can also be compressed with _zlib_ or uncompressed.
This spec can only handle uncompressed NBT data, so be sure to first detect
what type of data you are dealing with. You can use the Unix `file` command
to do this (`file-5.20` or later is required; older versions do not recognize
_zlib_-compressed data and return `application/octet-stream` instead):
```shell
file --brief --mime-type input-unknown.nbt
```
If it says:
* `application/x-gzip` or `application/gzip` (since `file-5.37`), you can decompress it by
* `gunzip -c input-gzip.nbt > output.nbt` or
* `python3 -c "import sys, gzip; sys.stdout.buffer.write(
gzip.decompress(sys.stdin.buffer.read()) )" < input-gzip.nbt > output.nbt`
* `application/zlib`, you can use
* `openssl zlib -d -in input-zlib.nbt -out output.nbt` (does not work on most systems)
* `python3 -c "import sys, zlib; sys.stdout.buffer.write(
zlib.decompress(sys.stdin.buffer.read()) )" < input-zlib.nbt > output.nbt`
* something else (especially `image/x-pcx` and `application/octet-stream`),
it is most likely already uncompressed.
The file `output.nbt` generated by one of the above commands can already be
processed with this Kaitai Struct specification.
This spec **only** implements the Java edition format. There is also
a [Bedrock edition](https://wiki.vg/NBT#Bedrock_edition) NBT format,
which uses little-endian encoding and has a few other differences, but it isn't
as popular as the Java edition format.
**Implementation note:** strings in `TAG_String` are incorrectly decoded with
standard UTF-8, while they are encoded in [**Modified UTF-8**](
https://docs.oracle.com/javase/8/docs/api/java/io/DataInput.html#modified-utf-8
) (MUTF-8). That's because MUTF-8 is not supported natively by most target
languages, and thus one must use external libraries to achieve a fully-compliant
decoder. But decoding in standard UTF-8 is still better than nothing, and
it usually works fine.
All Unicode code points with incompatible representations in MUTF-8 and UTF-8 are
U+0000 (_NUL_), U+D800-U+DFFF (_High_ and _Low Surrogates_) and U+10000-U+10FFFF
(all _Supplementary_ Planes; includes e.g. emoticons, pictograms).
A _MUTF-8_-encoded string containing these code points cannot be successfully
decoded as UTF-8. The behavior in this case depends on the target language -
usually an exception is thrown, or the bytes that are not valid UTF-8
are replaced or ignored.
**Sample files:**
* <https://wiki.vg/NBT#Download>
* <https://github.com/twoolie/NBT/blob/f9e892e/tests/world_test/data/scoreboard.dat>
* <https://github.com/chmod222/cNBT/tree/3f74b69/testdata>
* <https://github.com/PistonDevelopers/hematite_nbt/tree/0b85f89/tests>
@see <a href="https://wiki.vg/NBT">Source</a>
@see <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110723210920/https://www.minecraft.net/docs/NBT.txt">Source</a>
@see <a href="https://minecraft.wiki/w/NBT_format">Source</a>
]##
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
if ((this.rootType == minecraft_nbt.end) and (false)) :
let rootCheckExpr = this.io.readBytes(int(0))
this.rootCheck = rootCheckExpr
let rootExpr = MinecraftNbt_NamedTag.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.root = rootExpr
proc rootType(this: MinecraftNbt): MinecraftNbt_Tag =
if this.rootTypeInstFlag:
return this.rootTypeInst
let pos = this.io.pos()
this.io.seek(int(0))
let rootTypeInstExpr = MinecraftNbt_Tag(this.io.readU1())
this.rootTypeInst = rootTypeInstExpr
this.io.seek(pos)
this.rootTypeInstFlag = true
return this.rootTypeInst
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt], filename: string): MinecraftNbt =
MinecraftNbt.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
let numTagsExpr = this.io.readS4be()
this.numTags = numTagsExpr
for i in 0 ..< int(this.numTags):
let it = this.io.readS8be()
this.tags.add(it)
proc tagsType(this: MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray): MinecraftNbt_Tag =
if this.tagsTypeInstFlag:
return this.tagsTypeInst
let tagsTypeInstExpr = MinecraftNbt_Tag(minecraft_nbt.long)
this.tagsTypeInst = tagsTypeInstExpr
this.tagsTypeInstFlag = true
return this.tagsTypeInst
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray =
MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
let lenDataExpr = this.io.readS4be()
this.lenData = lenDataExpr
let dataExpr = this.io.readBytes(int(this.lenData))
this.data = dataExpr
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray =
MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
let numTagsExpr = this.io.readS4be()
this.numTags = numTagsExpr
for i in 0 ..< int(this.numTags):
let it = this.io.readS4be()
this.tags.add(it)
proc tagsType(this: MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray): MinecraftNbt_Tag =
if this.tagsTypeInstFlag:
return this.tagsTypeInst
let tagsTypeInstExpr = MinecraftNbt_Tag(minecraft_nbt.int)
this.tagsTypeInst = tagsTypeInstExpr
this.tagsTypeInstFlag = true
return this.tagsTypeInst
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray =
MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagList], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagList =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_TagList)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
let tagsTypeExpr = MinecraftNbt_Tag(this.io.readU1())
this.tagsType = tagsTypeExpr
let numTagsExpr = this.io.readS4be()
this.numTags = numTagsExpr
for i in 0 ..< int(this.numTags):
block:
let on = this.tagsType
if on == minecraft_nbt.long_array:
let it = MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.compound:
let it = MinecraftNbt_TagCompound.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.double:
let it = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readF8be())
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.list:
let it = MinecraftNbt_TagList.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.float:
let it = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readF4be())
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.short:
let it = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS2be())
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.int:
let it = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS4be())
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.byte_array:
let it = MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.byte:
let it = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS1())
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.int_array:
let it = MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.string:
let it = MinecraftNbt_TagString.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
elif on == minecraft_nbt.long:
let it = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS8be())
this.tags.add(it)
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagList], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_TagList =
MinecraftNbt_TagList.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagString], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagString =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_TagString)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
##[
unsigned according to <https://wiki.vg/NBT#Specification>
]##
let lenDataExpr = this.io.readU2be()
this.lenData = lenDataExpr
let dataExpr = encode(this.io.readBytes(int(this.lenData)), "utf-8")
this.data = dataExpr
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagString], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_TagString =
MinecraftNbt_TagString.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagCompound], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_TagCompound =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_TagCompound)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
block:
var i: int
while true:
let it = MinecraftNbt_NamedTag.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.tags.add(it)
if it.isTagEnd:
break
inc i
proc dumpNumTags(this: MinecraftNbt_TagCompound): int =
if this.dumpNumTagsInstFlag:
return this.dumpNumTagsInst
let dumpNumTagsInstExpr = int((len(this.tags) - (if ((len(this.tags) >= 1) and (this.tags[^1].isTagEnd)) : 1 else: 0)))
this.dumpNumTagsInst = dumpNumTagsInstExpr
this.dumpNumTagsInstFlag = true
return this.dumpNumTagsInst
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_TagCompound], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_TagCompound =
MinecraftNbt_TagCompound.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)
proc read*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_NamedTag], io: KaitaiStream, root: KaitaiStruct, parent: KaitaiStruct): MinecraftNbt_NamedTag =
template this: untyped = result
this = new(MinecraftNbt_NamedTag)
let root = if root == nil: cast[MinecraftNbt](this) else: cast[MinecraftNbt](root)
this.io = io
this.root = root
this.parent = parent
let typeExpr = MinecraftNbt_Tag(this.io.readU1())
this.type = typeExpr
if not(this.isTagEnd):
let nameExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagString.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.name = nameExpr
if not(this.isTagEnd):
block:
let on = this.type
if on == minecraft_nbt.long_array:
let payloadExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagLongArray.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.compound:
let payloadExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagCompound.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.double:
let payloadExpr = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readF8be())
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.list:
let payloadExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagList.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.float:
let payloadExpr = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readF4be())
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.short:
let payloadExpr = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS2be())
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.int:
let payloadExpr = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS4be())
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.byte_array:
let payloadExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagByteArray.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.byte:
let payloadExpr = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS1())
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.int_array:
let payloadExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagIntArray.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.string:
let payloadExpr = MinecraftNbt_TagString.read(this.io, this.root, this)
this.payload = payloadExpr
elif on == minecraft_nbt.long:
let payloadExpr = KaitaiStruct(this.io.readS8be())
this.payload = payloadExpr
proc isTagEnd(this: MinecraftNbt_NamedTag): bool =
if this.isTagEndInstFlag:
return this.isTagEndInst
let isTagEndInstExpr = bool(this.type == minecraft_nbt.end)
this.isTagEndInst = isTagEndInstExpr
this.isTagEndInstFlag = true
return this.isTagEndInst
proc fromFile*(_: typedesc[MinecraftNbt_NamedTag], filename: string): MinecraftNbt_NamedTag =
MinecraftNbt_NamedTag.read(newKaitaiFileStream(filename), nil, nil)